Love Renewed
by Minako-J
Summary: Aja and Craig reconnect, but there may be opposition to their relationship.
1. Chapter 1

Aja has always been one of my favorite Jem characters. In my first Jem fic I had intended for her to have a more prominent role, but I couldn't find the room. This story is not a sequel to "Awakening". It can be considered as happening a few months after those events, which took place vaguely sometime after Raya and Jetta joined the bands and before the Stingers appeared.

I do not own the rights to Jem and the Holograms, etc...

* * *

Blah, blah, blah. 

That's what she heard, anyway. Aja Leith wasn't really paying attention to what her best friend was saying. It was something about promotion for the upcoming Holograms album or the newest band signed to Starlight Music or the Misfit's latest stunt. Jerrica Benton was more than capable of handling all of that.

What was replaying in Aja's mind was a conversation with a certain blue-haired drummer. Craig Phillips was in town and had called yesterday. Towards the end of the hour-long call, Craig had asked to see her today. He was supposed to pick her up at 3:00 and it was almost that now.

"...and then I put a goose on my head."

"That's great, Jerrica. Wait, what did you say?"

"Aja, have you been paying attention to anything we've been discussing this afternoon?"

"Sorry. I have something on my mind."

"That something wouldn't be a tall, hunky drummer, would it?" suggested Kimber.

"Look at her blush," said Shana. "I'm sure that's it."

"It's just that I haven't seen him in a while, and he'll be here any minute."

"Well," said Jerrica, "I guess that's enough shop talk for today. I can fill you in later on what you missed."

"Thanks."

"So, where is he taking you?" Kimber asked. She wanted all the details.

"I don't know. He was actually very mysterious on the phone."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" one of the Starlight girls yelled from the other room. Ashley raced to the door. "Aja, it's your boyfriend!" Ashley was never very subtle.

"See you girls later."

Once Aja walked into the other room, she couldn't keep the huge smile off her face. She didn't realize how much she had missed Craig until that moment.

"Aja, you look wonderful." She was dressed casually in a red top and blue jeans, but she could have been wearing a paper bag for all that it mattered to Craig. She would have looked just as good no matter what she wore. "Let's go."

As they walked to his car, Aja asked him, "Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

The drive was a pleasant one as the two made small talk, filling in the gaps of their lives since Craig had last been in the States.

"Well, I'm glad your band decided to take a little break. It's been so long since the last time you were here."

"Yes, my sister said much the same thing."

"How is Stormer, I mean Mary, doing?"

"She's doing well. The Misfits have her working hard on the songs for their next album. Luckily, she had some time last night for a visit."

Even though she had no love for any member of the rival band, Aja tried to keep an open mind when it came to Craig's sister. At least Stormer was the least destructive of the quartet.

"Ah, here we are," Craig announced. He pulled into the nearest parking space and then turned to Aja. "Would you like to join me for a leisurely stroll?" They had arrived at the park, the place where the two had shared their first kiss.

"Absolutely."

* * *

"Girls, please. You need to finish at least _one_ track today or we'll be behind schedule. We already have a release date for your next album." Eric Raymond was pleading with the Misfits, which he managed, or at least attempted to manage. Today, he wasn't having much luck getting them to do any work. Pizzazz was the worst of the four girls, leaning back in a chair, sipping a can of pop, and looking utterly bored.

"Shut up, Eric. We don't have to listen to you."

"Yeah," Roxy agreed with Pizzazz, as usual. "We'll finish the album when we're good and ready."

"We're the stars here, Yank. What we say goes."

Stormer was the only one who had a slightly different opinion. "But, we don't want to disappoint our fans."

"Oh, boo hoo," Pizzazz mocked the youngest Misfit. "Our fans won't care about waiting an extra week or two. Anyway, we have plenty of time."

This time, Stormer kept her mouth shut. She didn't often stand up to the lead singer, and she definitely didn't want to get on Pizzazz's bad side. While the other Misfits decided to break for lunch, Stormer stayed behind to write some more of the songs. If she worked hard now, maybe she'd have time to see her brother again this evening. She wanted to spend as much time as she could with him before he went back to London.

The Misfits' lunch break lasted for three hours. Stormer was beginning to wonder if the other three were even coming back at all today when they finally returned. The band ended up actually recording the track that Eric had been asking for, even though petty arguing erupted more than once. This was nothing new to the volatile group.

Roxy noticed that Stormer was in a hurry to leave when the girls left the recording studio. "Where are you hurrying off to?"

"Oh, my brother, Craig, is in town. I was going to go spend some time with him."

"We'll give you a ride, won't we girls," Pizzazz said with mischief in her voice.

"That's okay, you don't need to."

"No trouble, love," Jetta replied. "I'm _sure _your brother is dying to see us again."

Stormer knew she couldn't say no, so she reluctantly agreed. So much for a quiet evening.

* * *

Craig was surprised by the knock at his hotel room door. He wasn't expecting anyone. When he looked through the peephole and saw that his sister had come to visit, he opened the door and welcomed her inside. "Mary, it's good to see you again." Before Craig could close the door, three more girls shoved their way into the room.

"Did you miss us?" asked Pizzazz.

"I see you brought your friends with you." Craig commented, clearly not happy about it. Everyone, including the Misfits, knew Craig's feelings about the way the band treated his sister. Stormer would tell him they aren't as bad as they seem, but he wasn't convinced.

"They gave me a ride over here, and they wanted to see you, too."

"Right."

"Come on, Craig," Pizzazz said. "Don't tell me you're still holding a grudge."

"Why don't you let bygones be bygones?" Jetta contributed.

Craig wasn't sure of their sincerity, but he didn't care to take the time to question them further. "Whatever." He then turned to his sister. "I am glad to see you, but I'm afraid we'll have to cut this short. I'm taking Aja out tonight."

"Oh. I didn't realize you already made plans." Stormer looked down at the floor. Not only was she disappointed that her brother couldn't spend time with her, she was also disappointed in his choice of companion. She never really liked Aja to begin with and wasn't sure she liked the Hologram dating her brother.

"I'm sorry. I'll call you tomorrow. We can make plans to meet up for lunch or something."

"Sure."

Stormer hugged her brother and then left with the other Misfits following.

"I can't believe he's going out with that loser." Roxy said as they walked down the hallway.

"She's put some kind of spell on him," was Jetta's theory.

Stormer kept quiet.

"Who cares." Pizzazz was already getting bored with the topic. "I'm hungry. Let's go to that new restaurant that just opened."

Roxy and Jetta excitedly gave their agreement, knowing their rich friend would be picking up the tab. Stormer went along, not having the energy to disagree. All she really wanted was to go home and curl up on the couch, but she knew Pizzazz would be annoyed at having to drop her off first. At least she wouldn't have to make dinner.

* * *

"Chez Soleil just opened but it's already getting great reviews. I'm so glad we're going there. I've wanted to check it out."

"I'm glad you approve, Aja."

Aja just laughed at her date. "It doesn't really matter where we go, just as long as I'm with you."

"I feel the same way." Craig looked over at Aja and took her hand in his. They drove the rest of the way in companionable silence.

There was a long line at the restaurant, but the couple was able to get a table relatively quickly due to Aja's celebrity status. She only felt slightly guilty at the preferential treatment.

"I hope your bandmates don't mind my stealing you away from them again today. You must have a lot of work to do for your upcoming album."

"It's okay, really," Aja replied. "We're ahead of schedule, actually."

"Well, look who it is." Aja and Craig heard the familiar, sarcastic voice a second before the green-haired woman came into view.

"Oh no," groaned Aja. "What's she doing here?"

"I'm surprised they let losers like you in the door, Aja. Craig, you should come join our table."

"Buzz off, Pizzazz. Can't you see we're trying to have a nice, quiet evening." Aja was already annoyed. When it came to the Misfits, particularly Pizzazz, Aja had no patience.

"I think Craig can speak for himself." With that, Pizzazz turned to him and said, "What do you say, drummer boy?"

"As my _date _already stated, we'd like to be alone."

"Fine. Suit yourself."

Of course, Pizzazz couldn't just leave it at that. As she turned away, she knocked over Aja's water glass, which promptly spilled onto her silk dress.

"Oops. Sorry." Although Pizzazz said this apology, her tone of voice gave the words the opposite meaning. The Misfit walked back to her own table, where two of the other three girls were clutching their stomachs as they laughed out loud. Only Stormer was not amused by the event. She hated to see Pizzazz cause a scene involving her brother. She thought about going over and apologizing for her friend but didn't think Aja would believe her to be sincere.

"Ooh, she makes me so mad," fumed Aja. "And this is my favorite dress!"

Craig started to stand up. "She will apologize and pay for the damage to your dress."

"No, don't bother." Seeing her date ready to stand up for her had quickly diffused her anger. "I don't want to cause an even bigger scene. Besides, you know Pizzazz will never apologize, not for real."

Craig resumed his seat. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Aja smiled at him. "I'm just going to head to the restroom and dry this off as best I can. I'll be right back." She gave him a quick kiss as she got up.

The rest of their meal was uneventful, although several times they could hear the Misfits complaining to the waiter from across the room. Neither was surprised when the manager went over and asked the rowdy group to leave.

"We didn't want to eat this muck, anyway," shouted Jetta.

"Yeah, this place stinks," agreed Roxy.

"Let's get outta here," said Pizzazz.

As they left, Stormer looked over and waved to her brother. He smiled and waved back.

"Your sister would be so much better off without those troublemakers."

"Don't I know it. But, she won't leave them. She thinks she needs them to make it."

"Kimber was disappointed that she didn't join us after they made that record together."

"Yeah, Mary told me she had a good time making that record with Kimber. I keep telling her she's too good for the Misfits. Maybe one day she'll believe it."

The two finished their meal and completed the evening with a walk along the beach, looking up at the stars and feeling the magic of the night.

"I had a wonderful time, Craig."

"I did too, Aja."

Craig cupped Aja's face in his hands and gently kissed her. Aja sighed. At this moment in time, she was perfectly content.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, as promised, Craig met his sister for lunch. They carefully avoided the subject of Stormer leaving the Misfits. Neither one felt like revisiting this old argument today.

"How did your date with Aja go?"

"It was great. Aja is great. I'm seeing her again tonight."

"Oh."

"Mary, I know the Holograms aren't your favorite people, but I'd really like you to get to know Aja better. I like her a lot."

"I know, Craig. And I'm happy for you, I am. I was just hoping we could hang out tonight."

"I'm sorry." Craig reached over and took his sister's hand. "Mary, I don't want you to think that the only reason I'm here is to see her. I do want to spend time with you, too. I tell you what, let me have tonight with Aja and then tomorrow we can have the whole day together. You don't have to work Saturdays, do you?"

"No."

"So, is it a deal?" Craig wiggled his eyebrows at his sister, which caused her to burst out laughing.

"Deal," she agreed, "but I have one condition. I get to pick what we do."

"OK, as long as you don't drag me to any chick flicks."

Stormer giggled and nodded her head. The siblings enjoyed the rest of their lunch.

* * *

When Stormer got back to the studio, the other three Misfits were actually ready to get back to work. 

"You took your time," Pizzazz complained. "We're waiting for you."

Stormer's normal reaction would be to apologize for holding them up, but she was in a good mood after lunch with her brother and feeling confident, so instead, she said, "At least I wasn't gone for three hours like some people." Stormer said this without any venom in her tone and just walked over to her keyboard. "I'm ready."

Pizzazz, Roxy, and Jetta were surprised. Although Stormer had been more outspoken since her return to the band, it was still rare for her to speak up. Stormer had a timid nature that she was trying to overcome, but it wasn't easy for her.

Pizzazz was annoyed and frowned but didn't say anything. Roxy hid a smirk from the lead singer. As much as she admired Pizzazz, she still enjoyed seeing her off balance. Sometimes, Roxy wished she was the one in the spotlight.

"Alright," said Jetta to break up the silence, "let's get this show on the road."

As they began to play one of Stormer's new songs, the songwriter smiled to herself. 'Today has been a good day,' she thought.

* * *

That night, Craig showed up at Starlight Mansion for the third time in two days. Kimber opened the front door. She couldn't resist teasing Aja's date. 

"Do I know you, mister?"

"Cute. Is Aja ready?"

"Just about," Kimber supplied. "Come on in."

The Hologram led Craig to the living room which, at least for the moment, was empty. In a few minutes, it would be filled with young girls, eager to watch that day's edition of Lindsey Pierce's show.

"I'll tell Aja you're here." Kimber went to check on her friend and found her in her room. "Your date's here."

"Thanks, Kimber. I'll be right down."

After the younger girl left, Aja looked in her mirror. She had spent extra time on her hair and make-up tonight. She didn't usually fuss too much with that stuff but found that she wanted to look extra nice for Craig. He was special.

When Aja walked into the living room, she found the drummer surrounded by three of the Starlight girls, who were bombarding him with questions about England.

Aja decided to rescue Craig and said, laughing, "Girls, give him some room. He can't answer you when you all talk at once." Craig gave her a look that said thanks.

Jerrica walked into the room and turned on the TV. "Lindsey's show is about to start, girls."

Ashley, Ba Nee, and Chrissie quickly took seats on the couch before the other Starlight girls came in.

"You're both welcome to stay and watch the show with us," Jerrica jokingly invited Aja and Craig.

"Maybe another time," Craig laughed. "I think we'd better go before the girls come up with another round of questions."

"Have a nice time."

Craig and Aja walked to his car, arm in arm. While Craig enjoyed talking with her bandmates and was charmed by their foster girls, he was glad to have Aja all to himself.

The couple spent a pleasant evening together at the movies. All too quickly, it was time to say goodnight. Craig walked Aja to her front door. They gazed into one another's eyes, not needing to say anything. Craig leaned over and he and Aja shared a loving kiss.

After Craig left, Aja practically floated up the stairs to her bedroom. She couldn't ever remembering feeling this way about anyone.

* * *

It was 10:00 on Saturday morning. Stormer was enjoying her second cup of tea, waiting for her brother to arrive. She leaned against the kitchen counter. Once she finished this cup, she would feel more awake. She had never been a morning person. 

At the knock on her door, Stormer rushed to the front door. What she saw on the other side made her frown. Craig was there, but so was Aja.

'What's _she_ doing here,' Stormer thought. She looked accusingly at her brother.

"Don't be mad," he said, before she could say anything. He lifted his hands as if to ward off her argument. "Remember how I said you and Aja should get to know each other better? I thought today would be a good day to do that."

Aja had the grace to look uncomfortable. "Stormer...Mary, I'm sorry. I thought you knew I was coming with Craig." Aja sent her own look to the drummer, who was now thinking this hadn't been such a great idea, after all. Aja continued, "Look, if you want me to, I'll leave."

Stormer looked from Craig to Aja while she made up her mind. Clearly, her brother wanted the Hologram here. She didn't like the way Craig had surprised her. She wanted to spend time with him alone, but he was right in one respect. If Craig was going to continue to see Aja, she'd have to get to know her sometime. She might as well get it over with.

Stormer sighed. The things she did for her brother. "Okay, come inside." Aja made her way into the living room, but as Craig passed by his sister, she punched him in the arm. "You're not off the hook, though," she whispered.

Craig smiled back, glad Mary wasn't _too_ mad. She just rolled her eyes. As the siblings joined Aja in the other room, Stormer said, "Can I get you guys anything before we go? I've got some water heated if you want some tea."

"No, thanks. I'm good."

"Me too, sis."

"Then, let's go." Stormer grabbed a picnic basket on her way out of the house. She hoped she would be able to make it through the day.


End file.
